Our Last Night
by sookieandsamfan
Summary: Katniss and Peeta share a magical evening the night before the Quarter Quell.  Set in Catching Fire.  Spoilers if you haven't read it.  I own nothing.


***told from Katniss' point of view. Set the night before the Quarter Quell starts in Catching Fire. I own nothing and think the books are amazing. I just write fanfic from time to time, and wanted to give this series a whirl. Enjoy. Rated M just in case, but it could maybe be a T.

I couldn't stand the thought of Peeta getting locked out of my room, so I wouldn't even let him go take a shower in his own room. He was more than happy to oblige, so I let him go first with the shower in my room.

It was our last night together before we went back into the arena, and I had made up my mind days ago about how I wanted to spend it. While Peeta showered, I looked through the drawers full of Capitol clothes. I found a pair of running shorts and a white t-shirt to give Peeta to sleep in then found what I was looking for, a thin black nightgown with lace at the top and bottom. It was the perfect outfit for seduction, although I was hoping Peeta wouldn't need too much convincing.

You see, tonight I was going to offer myself to Peeta, heart and body. He is so amazing, and while my feelings for him might not be as strong as his for me, I have grown to love Peeta in a way that's indescribable. Whatever we are, we are more than friends. He has been devoted and wonderful to me, and there is only one thing in this world I can give him that will always belong to him and no one else even in death: my virginity.

I wrapped the nightgown in a towel so Peeta wouldn't see it, and just in time too because he walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. _Yum_ I thought to myself as I took in the strong planes of his chest. The other thing about Peeta, he's incredibly handsome, and right now, we were both at our best. Pampered by our Prep team. Well-fed and uninjured. It was going to be a perfect night.

"I laid some clothes out for you," I say as he makes his way to the bed. He thanks me, and I head into the bathroom to wash off the tons of make-up from the interview. I think of what a treat Peeta is in for. We've innocently slept in the same bed so many times, I know he will never be expecting anything more than that.

I shower quickly afraid I'll lose my nerve if I don't move fast. I get out of the shower, dry off and slip on the nightgown. The full-length mirror shows me exactly what I was hoping for. A beautiful, sexy girl. I towel-dry my hair but leave it down damp, so it's long and slightly wavy. I take a deep breath and walk out into the bedroom. Peeta doesn't look right away even though I know he heard me open the door. He's sitting on the edge of the bed watching a recap of tonight's interviews on the tv in my room. As I walk closer to him though, he turns towards me, and his beautiful blue eyes bulge and he swallows hard.

"Wow," Peeta says honestly clearly taken aback. "You look amazing."

"Thanks," I say back smiling. I know Peeta immediately knows I'm up to something. He's slept in my bed innocently dozens of times to comfort me and help fight off nightmares, and I've certainly never worn anything like this before. It's usually a t-shirt and pj pants.

Once again, before I lose my nerve, I close the distance between myself and Peeta and take the remote out of his hand. I turn off the tv and set the remote on top of it. He doesn't stop me, curious as to what's going on and mesmerized by my outfit.

I boldly sit on his lap, straddling him so I have one knee on either side of his body. He closes his arms around me in place immediately. I kiss him long and hard, and when I pull back I say, "I wore something special because I want tonight to be special." Before he can say anything, I start kissing him again and hold nothing back. It's a kiss of passion. The kind I've only felt with him one other time in the cave during the Hunger Games. So many of our kisses have been staged, but this is real.

Peeta responds enthusiastically, and I can feel his arousal starting to growing under my lap. I've felt it before when we've been sleeping together, so it doesn't surprise or embarrass me. Everything seems perfect and fine until I reach for the bottom of his shirt indicating that I want him to take it off. He grabs my hands and pulls back to look into my eyes. We are both pink cheeked from kissing and our eyes are dark with lust.

"Katniss," he says breathless. "Whatever's happening, I want it, but I have to know, why are you doing this?" Leave it to Peeta to need an explanation. He's not the kind of guy who could just take advantage of a woman throwing herself at him without one. I pause and just look down because I don't quite know how to phrase it so that he will understand. He's the one who's good with words. I'm not. Though I was just thinking, I think he takes my silence as me thinking he's rejected me, so Peeta lifts my chin and says, "I just want you to know that you don't owe me anything." Such a gentleman and so sweet. He wants to make sure I'm doing this for me not him. Somehow I find the words to explain.

"Peeta," I start. "We don't know what's going to happen in the arena tomorrow, but I think we can both agree that we aren't both going to make it out of there alive this time. Now, I know we have differing opinions about which one of us that's going to be, and I don't want to talk about that right now. What I do want is to make a memory so strong that whoever makes it out, we can think about this night and find the will to go on, and maybe it will help us fight off the nightmares when we aren't there to do that for each other anymore." He's listening intently, so I keep going. "I know I don't owe you anything Peeta. This is just as much for me as it is you. I want to feel alive tonight, and I want to be with you with no one else watching. No Capitol, No Panem, no cameras, just us." It's everything in my heart and the honest truth.

With my short speech over, Peeta comes back to reality and kisses me so passionately it takes my breath, and I know I've won him over with my words. He kisses his way to my neck then whispers in my ear, "I know you know this already Katniss, but I just need to tell you again...I love you so much."

I know he doesn't expect me to say it back, but I smile and kiss him then hold his face so I can look into his eyes. "I know," I say and since I used up all of my own heartfelt words, I borrow some from a friend...something Haymitch once said to me. "I know you do," I start again, "and I could live a hundred lifetimes and not deserve you."

With that we are kissing again, no more words needed. We tumble back on the bed wrapped around one another. I feel warm and safe and happy in Peeta's arms, and he is stirring something in me that I never knew existed. My body is aching for his touch. Peeta is passionate and unafraid but gentle like always, and he seems to know his way around a woman. Suddenly, the confidence it took me to put on a negligee and seduce him is gone. _Has he done this before? _I think to myself. Before I can stop myself, I suddenly blurt out. "I've never done this before, just so you know." I'm immediately embarrassed and ashamed for ruining the moment, but Peeta doesn't skip a beat. "I can stop if you want to change your mind," he says calmly, and I know he means it. Only Peeta. "No," I say quickly wrapping my arms around his neck. "I just wanted you to know in case that matters," I say looking down slightly. I'm clearly implying that he's no virgin, and he understands. He tips my chin so I'm looking at him. "Katniss, I've never done this either. Since I was five, it's only been you." I soften and feel relief at his words. "Were you worried about that?" he asks. "Well, it just seemed like you knew what you were doing," I say grinning. He laughs and starts kissing my neck again. "I have an older brother remember? And, he loves to brag about his conquests. I guess I've picked up a few tips over the years." He says the last sentence as he runs his hand down my side, lifts the bottom on my nightgown and lightly presses between my legs. I moan nearly coming undone right there, and I'm grateful he's comfortable with this because I have no idea what I'm doing. "You'll have to teach me," I whisper in his ear as I run my hands across his broad shoulders.

"We'll learn together," he says and then his lips are on mine.

For the next hour at least, we kiss and run our hands all over each other. The way he says my name makes my heart skip a beat. At some point, our clothes come off, and Peeta leads me to my first orgasm. His fingers are like magic. He's delicate and artful like he is with his painting and frosting. It's not enough, and soon I'm begging him to be inside me. I have no idea where I learned that phrase, but it feels right, so I go with it. He's so nervous, it's cute. He doesn't want to hurt me and tells me so twice. I kiss him in reassurance as he gently shoves his way into my most secret place. It does hurt, but only for a moment…nothing compared to the pain I've faced in the arena. He allows me to adjust then gently starts moving inside me.

The sensation is overwhelming, and before long, I'm moaning his name. Peeta follows me, and I could tell he was barely hanging on, but he was doing it for me. He releases, and as he does, my name is the only thing he can say. We lay there for a few minutes exhausted and basking in the glow of our first sexual experience. I think we did pretty good. It was like we were made for each other.

He slowly and gently pulls out of me rolling onto his back and clutching me to his side. We are silent for maybe five minutes, when Peeta turns and kisses me on the forehead. I look up into his eyes, and he brushes my hair out of my face. "I can die happy now," Peeta says laughing. He's only half-joking though because I know he intends to die for me, while I intend to die for him. We are at a stalemate on that, so I don't bring it up. Instead, I say what's in my heart, something that I've been feeling and fighting for some time now. "I love you," I say stroking his cheek, and I know he knows I mean it because a single tear falls out of his left eye. We don't bother to dress and spend the rest of the night wrapped in each other's arms. I drift off to sleep knowing that my last free night alive was the even better and happier than I could have dreamed up.


End file.
